Barring an unexpected case of back stiffness, Braves catcher Evan Gattis is expected back in the lineup for Monday night’s series-opener with Miami.
Gattis, on the disabled list since June 29 with a bulging thoracic disk, played his fourth re-hab game with Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday, going 2-for-6. That gave him 16 at-bats to test his back, enough to satisfied Braves management he is ready to return.
“My take is, unless he gets stiff — he got six at-bats — so I’m thinking he good,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said after the team’s 8-2 win over Philadelphia on Sunday. “I expected him to be here (Monday) and in the lineup.”
Despite missing 19 games, Gattis still has the second-most home runs (18) on the team and is tied for third-most RBIs (39). Hitting .290 at the time of his injury, Gattis has played is just 63 games, about 64 percent of the team’s schedule.
Although the club was not as interested in his performance at Gwinnett as much as it was his condition, Gattis hit .188 (3-for-16) in four G-Braves games, including seven strikeouts. He went 2-for-6 Sunday in a 11-3 win over visiting Durham with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Gonzalez is also hopeful for the return of left fielder Justin Upton, who came out of Sunday’s game after being struck in the left triceps by Philadelphia starter Kyle Kendrick in the third inning. Although he played the next two innings, Upton’s arm stiffened up during the one-hour, 39-minute rain delay and Gonzalez replaced him with Jordan Schafer as a precaution.
